


roses smell oh so sweet when one hasn't a nose

by Phoenix_Allura (Artemis_Autumn_Marie)



Series: Nix's Thominho Week 2019 [5]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Brenda's POV, Established Relationship, Fear, Knives, M/M, Thominho Week, Thominho Week 2019, tunnels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-16 09:33:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19645594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Autumn_Marie/pseuds/Phoenix_Allura
Summary: Brenda's trapped with Thomas. If only he weren't so clearly in love with that leader of his, then she might try out WICKED's suggestions. Well, never mind that now. They're trapped, and there's danger all around.Somehow she has to get them both out alive.(Good for her that Jorge never trusted WICKED with her life and taught her more useful things than they'd ever given her.)





	roses smell oh so sweet when one hasn't a nose

Brenda grabbed Thomas by the shirt and dragged him behind her. He was looking after his friends, she just knew it. Soon he was keeping pace with her. As the air cooled, she released his shirt.  
"Just keep going!" She made sure her tone was sharp. It was cute, that he was so worried about his friends, but really, they needed to focus on themselves. "It's better if we split up, anyway." She didn't need to turn to know he was still behind her. She checked the marks on the walls, turning at the ones she was certain of. Hopefully, there weren't too many Cranks in here. After the third turn, she stopped and placed a hand on Thomas's chest to halt him.  
"Do you hear anything?" Even through her harsh breathing, she kept her voice low. No use alerting anything in the area they were here. She scanned the area as Thomas asked a few questions and answered automatically.  
"Are we safe?" Right; she'd just told him about Cranks. "What happened with the explosion anyway? We need to go find my friends."  
"What about Jorge?" Okay, she was annoyed. Annoyed enough to make her stop watching the area. "Shouldn't we find him too?"  
"Yes, all of them." Thomas agreed quickly.  
"Even if we have to do it alone," She turned all the around, pressing her chest to his. "I want you to promise that you take me all the way to the end, to the cure WICKED has." She knew better than to try anything more after how he and the boy he said was leader, Minho, had behaved out there. Her orders may be to get close in whatever way possible... but there was no way he was going to play into her tricks when he was clearly in love with Minho. He pushed her away, and she looked up to where his face should be.  
"How do we get out of here?" That question didn't surprise her.  
"There are other ways."  
"What did Jorge tell you?" That one did.  
"Just about everything. I figured it out, though." And so did the others, Barkley and his gang were who she was worried about.  
"And you don't think anyone else did?"  
"Yeah, Barkley and his lot. I think they're the ones who set the explosion, actually. There are other places to find food and other ways to get in." He just wasn't going to stop asking questions, so she might as well answer them preemptively. She turned away again. There was no point in trying what WICKED wanted her to try. Sure, Thomas was cute, and he might be nice when he wasn't worried, but he was so not interested her it wasn't even funny. No, the best thing for them to do was continue on and find another way out. She was sure of her way; she'd been done here plenty of times--but never too far in.  
Then the glass started breaking.  
Pop-shatter, pop-shatter, pop-shatter. If it was anything alive making that noise happen, they were close enough to hear them. She stopped hiding her fear, letting it show plain on her face. Maybe if Thomas was scared enough, he would stop worrying about his friends' lives and starting worrying about theirs.   
"We need to move," She whispered, knowing she would be heard anyway. She kept her footsteps quiet while still walking as fast as she could. There were a few turns up here that they could take and she could throw a couple of loose stones down the other side to draw them off. It was an old trick, but it would work for long enough to get a headstart if nothing else. She turned, flashlight aimed low, ready to move ahead. Was an ambush a possibility? Of course. But if they could distract first and get away, that would be best. Thomas tugged on her arm, pulling her attention to the man just visible at the edge of her flashlight's circle.  
She turned off the light and made scuffling noises her feet, grabbing a loose chunk of wall and throwing it.  
It didn't hit the ground. In fact, it rather sounded like it hit a human.  
Shit.  
They were surrounded.  
Brenda stilled, gripping Thomas's arm tightly to keep him the same way. They'd knocked the lightbulbs out for a good few meters; she could barely see the faint silhouettes. There was one on the side closest to her. She, alone, could get past him without getting caught; there was enough room there.  
That meant leaving Thomas behind, which wasn't an option.  
So instead she grabbed hold of Thomas again, picked up four chunks of wall, pressing two into his hands. Hopefully he'd understand from what he could feel of her motions. She threw one of hers toward the hall they'd come from; it hit the wall. Thomas threw his too, and it sounded like his went farther or hit someone before falling to the ground. Quickly, Brenda threw her other one, making it seem like they were moving toward the side with more people. That wasn't a bad plan, actually, hide mixed in with them... but their clothes and supplies were totally different. They'd be found out as soon as they could be seen.  
She led Thomas toward the lone silhouette, tossing rocks behind her as she went. It would keep the Cranks off their trail for a while yet, hopefully. And maybe this wouldn't end up as an ambush with them both dead.  
She was overly aware of how tense her muscles were, and she could hardly hear any more: Her heartbeat was pounding into her ears.  
Sweat dripped down her back.  
They inched closer to the silhouette.  
Another inch closer.  
Closer.  
Closer.  
Closer.  
Brenda could almost make out his face now.  
Thomas's chest rose and fell sharply under her hand.  
He didn't let out a sound.  
Whoever this was must be familiar then.  
Brenda kept moving them slowly.  
Wait.  
She'd run out of rocks.  
Another noise.  
Another breath.  
Not hers.  
Not Thomas's.  
Someone else.  
It wasn't in front of them.  
And it was coming closer.  
In, out.  
Harsh, loud pants.  
In, out.  
A curse.  
In, out.  
Brenda pulled Thomas three steps forward.  
In, out.  
Right behind Thomas.  
In, out.  
A gleeful cackle rose from the hallway, echoing, echoing, echoing.  
(It would never stop.)  
In, out.  
Another step.  
Two.  
Thomas started to gasp.  
In, out.  
Brenda wedged a hand against his mouth.  
In, out.  
Closer.  
In, out.  
She could see light-colored eyes now.  
In, out.  
They had five more steps before they could run.  
In, out.  
Whispers. "Rose has my nose."  
In, out.  
"Rose has my nose, I suppose."  
That voice was right behind them.  
Brenda resisted the urge to sprint.  
In, out.  
She reached a hand out to the wall, wondering if there were more explosions going on when it shook under her touch.  
There were no explosions.  
(She was shaking.)  
In, out.  
Brenda pressed herself to the wall.  
Four more steps.  
In, out.  
The breathing was closer than before; the tunnel was narrowing.  
(She'd never faced a Crank without a group around her before.)  
In, out.  
Thomas mirrored her movements.   
In, out.  
Three more steps.  
In, out.  
They were so close.  
In, out.  
The walls slid into place.  
(It would be harder now to get out.)  
In, out.  
Two more steps.  
In, out.  
Brenda could see the bright lightbulbs, flickering, if she strained.  
In, out.  
One more step.  
In, out.  
Brenda slipped past the man in the tunnel.  
In, out.  
Thomas followed more slowly.  
In, out.  
The man turned to them.  
In, out.  
They ran.  
The breathing fell behind them quickly.  
The footsteps didn't.  
"Hey! Wait up!" Brenda nearly fell when Thomas stopped.  
"I know that voice."  
"We need to keep moving." Brenda pulled him forward.  
The footsteps were running.  
Sprinting, even.  
There were several slower footsteps behind them, preceded by echoing laughter and calls of "Rose, Rose got my nose, I suppose!"  
Brenda pulled Thomas into a branching tunnel.  
But it wasn't a tunnel.  
It was a dead end.  
They were trapped.  
Again.  
"Brenda, there's a table we can hide under." Thomas had come to the same conclusion.  
"Oh goody, a table," Brenda muttered. "Well, crawl under then." Brenda pulled her gun from her belt, thumbing the safety off. She always tried not to use it down here, with the tight spaces and all, but it looked like she might not have a choice.  
"What about you?"  
"Move, Thomas." She'd gotten used to her orders being followed. Thomas might be WICKED's golden boy, but she was in charge here all the same. "I'll follow you in a few. I want to see if threatening makes them back off."  
"Brenda, I found a door!" Thomas had stopped whispering.  
"Be quiet, Thomas!" She hissed, checking the entrance. Someone was coming. Fast.  
It wasn't worth it.  
She shoved the gun, safety back on, into her belt, and crawled after Thomas.  
"Move in," She felt like screaming but that would give away their location. Brenda pressed her back to Thomas's chest and closed the door as much as she could. It was more roughly carved out than she'd thought, and meant to fit only one small person. A child, perhaps.  
It would have to work for both of them now. Hopefully, no one would think to look for them here; thinking along those lines, Brenda ran her hands along the bumpy wall, tugging at decent-sized rocks.  
She listened carefully before crawling out, under the table, and chucking the rocks as hard as she could. They clattered, several times, but it was more distant than she'd hoped for. She crawled into the hole, forcing Thomas to move backward, then turning so her back leaned firmly against his chest. The farther out of reach they were, the better.  
The footsteps headed down the direction she'd thrown the rocks.  
That was only one set.  
The others come to investigate their room.  
"Rose got my nose, I suppose?" A man's voice, followed by a giggle. "Come, come out, Rose! I do want my nose." More voices followed, softer and unintelligible.  
Someone knocked on the table.  
More laughter.  
"Come out, Rose! This isn't funny." The first man. "Rose will come out if I'm alone." Brenda cracked the door open a bit; the man had twisted in a lightbulb and she could see that he held a knife down by his leg.  
They were all so close.  
She could shoot them.  
(Then they'd both end up dead.)  
There were complaining voices, but slowly all the legs in the room trickled away save for one.  
"Rose, Rose got my nose, I suppose." Brenda wasn't even sure the man knew he was muttering.  
"Rose, come out to play, the rest are gone."  
She didn't know how far away the others were, so she wasn't going to risk shooting him.  
But if she could get that knife...  
It wasn't happening. Maybe they stayed where they were long enough, he'd leave.  
(That could be a trap too.)  
Brenda whispered, quietly as she could manage, into Thomas's ear. She'd take first watch, and they'd wake each other in turn until the man either found them or left.

It took a while.  
At least a day, by Brenda's internal clock.  
But he was gone.  
She let Thomas sleep for a while longer to make sure he stayed away before shaking him awake.  
"Let's go. He's gone for now." And he'd taken the lightbulb with him, for whatever reason. She'd watched him climb the table to unscrew it. Gun out, she led the way into the main tunnel, checking quickly on either side before she started to cross.  
"Rose, you brought a friend!" The man had caught Thomas. "Turn on that pretty light of yours. I need your noses, see, and it's much to with light. Unless you don't mind having a poor-looking face?" Brenda turned her flashlight on. He had his knife to Thomas's throat, and was tracing his other hand around Thomas's nose. The only thing keeping Thomas there was the knife.  
"Oh, your nose is much better than his, Rose. I think I'll take yours first." Now that she could see his face, she knew this was not an uncommon activity for him.  
He let go of Thomas and grabbed her wrist in the same movement, forcing her to drop the gun. She kicked to Thomas, and he picked it up.  
He looked like he had no idea how to use it. But it was a start.  
The man kept his knife to her throat and began running his fingers over her face. She twisted, just enough that she would avoid the blade, then rammed her elbow backward into his gut, bringing her foot up and kicking rather wildly behind her at the same time, just looking to connect with something.  
It kind of worked.  
He dropped the knife.  
(Threw it, really.)  
But now he was mad.  
"Rose, you have my nose! You need to learn to share." He was chasing her now, so she led him right back into the room, putting the table between them.   
The man lunged, she sidestepped.  
She had the door in her sights; where had Thomas disappeared to now?  
He'd left, hadn't he? Run away?  
They were both weaponless, but he was desperate. And when people are desperate, they become careless.  
Make mistakes.  
His was not paying attention to anything but his target.  
Brenda slid across the table, kicking the man in the chest.  
Then he grabbed her.  
Firm hands on her legs.  
She was tossed to the ground, and then his hands were turning her over.  
"Oh good, I haven't damaged that nose." He ran his hands over her face again and again.  
"If only I had my knife. If only I hadn't sent my friends away. Rose, you do have my nose." It was said almost kindly, like a parent to a child.  
It was a very weird situation, even for Brenda.  
She managed to get her knees bent; he was leaning over her, breath hitting her with each harsh pant.  
She turned her head away.  
Curled into as much of a ball as she could.  
And rolled.  
Thomas tackled the man to the ground, driving the knife home as he did so.  
Then he sat there, on top of the body.  
Brenda pulled the knife and cleaned it on the man's pants. It never hurt to have an extra weapon.  
"Let's get out of here. We've still got friends to find, remember?" Brenda offered Thomas a hand up and a truce.  
They'd make it out alive.  
And they'd work together to do it.

(As soon as Minho saw Thomas, he ran up to them and kissed him, completely ignoring Brenda.)  
(Then Thomas got shot, and that was an entirely different story.)  
(Brenda had never seen a teenage boy be so angry and protective and worried all at the same time.)  
(He fretted the whole time Thomas was away. They got used to it.)  
(When Thomas got back, still out of it, Minho didn't let go of him until he woke up.)  
(Well, at least Brenda had more friends now.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Just a heads up, I might not be posting tomorrow. We're down two cars right now, so there's only mine, plus I have work and stuff, I guess. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments, please! (They are my lifeblood.)  
> Thanks for reading,   
> Phoenix


End file.
